by Richard Matheson

Review by William P Simmons

Just
in time for Halloween, the darkest night of the year, comes stories
of transformation and redemption, evil and compassion, all translated
through the imaginative lens and emotional prism of one of the genre's
most respected talents. Responsible for dragging supernatural horror
into the modern era, replacing moldy vaults with living rooms, Richard
Matheson invested far-flung superstitions from tradition with psychological
accuracy and believability. Not content to simply scare or shock (both
of which he accomplishes very well), Matheson felt the need to explore
the byways of the human condition within minimally told nightmares,
uncovering nuances of hurtful truth in tales of possession, haunting
and ever-struggling humanity.

Most importantly, his characters -- average folks forced into confrontations
with not only the uncanny but the selfish designs of other humans --
are recognizable enough to offer us catharsis. As his everymen face,
triumph over, or (as is often the case) lose to the forces of darkness,
readers experience that purging shame, anger, sorrow and tragedy so
often encountered in Greek tragedy. Nowhere is this most emphasized,
and no where is Matheson's versatility better evidenced, than in his
wonderfully inventive, emotionally intense fables of vampirism. Weighing
in at 500+ pages, Bloodlines is both a generous collection of
fine dark fantasy fiction and a studious attempt to critically
assess the author's approach to the vampire in fiction and film. In
this the volume succeeds admirably well, celebrating various incarnations
of the undead with fiction, screenplays, critical analysis, and around
20 pages of photos. In addition, the text records Matheson's ability
to address social issues and personal conflicts within the context of
a well worn symbol.

An apocalyptic drama of 'the outsider' and society as devouring agent
of conformity, the novel I Am Legend means different things to
different readers. Within its economical, thrilling plot of the last
man on earth hunting (and being hunted by) vampires, this revolutionary
work emphasized the struggle of the individual against the many, going
on to influence George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead and
countless inferior imitations. While the greatest pleasure the novel
offers is a unique scientific suggestion of an illness shadowed by supernal
folklore and realistic, emotionally engaging characters, of equal importance
is Matheson's ability to suggest how very easily the norm may become
strange, the culture hero the demonized 'outsider.' In his hero, the
last man on Earth, we slowly see an alien emerge if seen from the perspective
of the moral majority, in this case vampires. While we are encouraged
to empathize with his desperate plight, rooting for his survival, we're
also made well aware that this man, to the majority, is the new breed
of monster. This philosophically bold context lends power and controversy
to the novel even today, as we are asked to ponder who is the monster
and who the victim, or if there is indeed any difference between the
two outside the realm of subjectivity. Gauntlet accompanies the uncensored
version of this minimalist written, thematically rich mixture of apocalyptic
nightmare and spiritual tragedy with the I Am Legend screenplay.
Besides allowing for a comparison between the narrative and the script,
this rare document shows how Matheson envisioned the screen version
of his story. A lively, troubling, emotionally challenging read, one
laments the fact that this version was never made, its chances destroyed
by British censors, replaced instead by two lackluster attempts which
offer none of Matheson's original pathos.

After reinventing the ghost story and giving a face-lift to speculative
fiction, finding as much wonder and terror in the human psyche as in
more outre elements of the supernatural, it was only logical that Matheson
should tackle Bram Stocker's Dracula, one of the most influential
(if not the first) vampire novels to thrill readers. The results are
shared in both Matheson's 'Screen Treatment' and final 'Script' of Dracula.
There are substantial differences between the story flow of the
treatment and finished script, the transition between narrative-like
plot outline and finished speaking screenplay intriguing to track. In
both we find Matheson trying to inject the original story with a bit
more reserve and plausibility, with mixed results. The screenplay treats
the subject seriously and with respect, and focuses on the dramatic
relationships between characters and the internal conflict of Dracula
more than many subsequent film adaptations. Later produced and directed
by the late Dan Curtis, who injected a deliciously dark atmosphere into
Matheson's story structure, Dracula was produced minus one whole
hour of the planned shooting script. Therefore fans of the film will
note several differences between the script and the finished film, including
more elaborate characterizations. As with other Matheson script collections
from Gauntlet, this edition is oversized (8 ½ x 11), and Matheson's
script is offered just as he typed it, including handwritten corrections.

Proposing to document all of Matheson's vampire imaginings, Gauntlet
follows I am Legend and Dracula with three short stories
that each explore the realm of the undead with different thematic depth
and attitude. "Blood Sun" (1951) the first, pokes satiric
fun at the vampire legend while studying the transformative desires
of a young boy looking for a father-figure. Both "The Funeral"
(1955) and "No Such Thing As A Vampire" (1959) maintain this
camp sensibility while injecting plots of mistrust and doubt with a
sharper degree of malice. Enjoyable in their own right, and considered
by many to be classics of genre, these shorts lack the archetypal power,
social relevance, and depth of Matheson's novels. Nor are they comparable
with the best of Matheson's short work. Regardless, they are a welcome
addition, as is the amount of scholarly criticism and in-depth analysis
applied by editor Mark Dawidziak, who weighs in on Matheson's evolving
style and treatment of his subject in "Preface: Tracing the Bloodlines"
and "Richard the Writer, Vlad the Impaler, and Dracula the Script."
Photos from I Am Legend, Dracula, The Funeral, and No Such
Thing as a Vampire are enjoyable supplements. Finally, appreciations
from Ray Bradbury, Rockne S. O'Bannon, John Carpenter, Steve Niles,
and others round out this rich, carefully researched collection.